ABSTRACT
Desde su llegada al país a mediados del siglo XVII, la fiebre amarilla jugó un papel importante en la historia patria, primero con epidemias en los puertos del Caribe, y luego, con la navegación a vapor, remontando los ríos principales, sobre todo el Magdalena. Tanto el descubrimiento de los vectores involucrados en la transmisión como el desarrollo de la vacuna delegaron la preocupación a un segundo plano. Los brotes epidémicos de fiebre amarilla, esporádicos y en regiones apartadas, siguieron ocurriendo, para recrudecerse en 2016, en paralelo con lo que ocurre en países vecinos como Perú y Brasil. El vector principal, el Aedes aegypti, involucrado en la transmisión de otros arbovirus, se adapta y se extiende en muchos entornos urbanos del continente. Se cuenta, sin embargo, con una vacuna de relativo bajo costo y de alta efectividad que podría contribuir a la erradicación de la enfermedad
Since its arrival to Colombia in the middle XVII century, yellow fever played an important role in its history; first with epidemics in the Caribbean ports, and later, when steamboats became available, by navigating upstream the Magdalena River. Both the discovery of the vectors involved in its transmission as well as the development of an effective vaccine led concerns about the disease to a secondary plane. Epidemic outbreaks of yellow fever continued occurring, particularly in very distant regions and also with prolonged time intervals. However, since 2016 there has been a recrudescence of such outbreaks, in parallel with what is going in our neighbor countries, Peru and Brazil. The main vector, Aedes aegypti, is also involved in the transmission of other arbovirus infections, and it is capable of adapting and extending its presence in many urban areas in South America. Nonetheless, a low-cost and highly effective vaccine is available, which may contribute to eradicate the disease